The Escape of New Orleans
by littlebird14
Summary: What would have happened if Caroline had found Klaus in NOLA when she went looking for him? Rated M for sexual content *Klaroline* Complete
1. Chapter 1 - Breaking Klaus Out

Disclaimer: I own nothing! All characters, locations, background and ideas all belong to The Vampire Diaries/Originals creators – and my, how talented they are!

\- TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO -

"I'm looking for Klaus Mikaelson. I know he comes here, so –" Caroline starts.

"Look, no one's see any of the Mikaelson's for almost three years," the rude waitress dismissed before turning her back on the blonde.

Caroline sighed before looking down at her two small girls wondering what to do now. Upon leaving the bar, she finds the pathway to her car blocked by a tall gentleman, clean shaven and dressed nicely.

"Hello, I'm Marcel Gerard. I hear you're looking for the Mikaelson's," his smile was off-putting.

"Yes…" Caroline confirmed suspiciously while drawing her girls closer to her.

Marcel noticed her uneasiness and said, "No need to worry. In my city, it is a great crime to harm children."

"Your city?"

"After running the Original family out of town – for the second time – I run this city."

"Do you know where they went?"

"Well, I know where one is," he grinned evilly. "I can take you to see them." He turned to a younger man, "Josh, will you take these two adorable kids to play in the park while I escort our guest to the Mikaelson compound?"

Caroline made a point to threaten Josh with his show painful death should anything happen to her girls. Once convinced of their safety, she followed this Marcel down the street. Normally she never would have left her children, especially now, but Josh seems liked a good person and Caroline always valued being a good judge of character. Besides, she needed help – desperately.

They came to a stop in front of a large property covered in green vines but as Caroline grew closer to the door, she saw the Mikaelson "M" that she knew from their house back in Mystic Falls. They were in the right place.

"So, if this is just some kind of ruse to lure me here to kill me or something, be aware, I have people who know I'm here that will come looking for me."

"You have spirit, I'll give you that. But I assure you, even if I had the intention of killing you, no one can save you." His eyes flashed red and Caroline suddenly regretted following him here. He was completely different than a vampire or a hybrid. What was he?

Marcel moved with such speed that she had only once seen in Klaus. He had grabbed her by the back of her neck and whooshed through the back tunnels. Coming to a stop, she flies to her chest on the floor, falling wrong on her arm, breaking it.

Her cry in pain wakes Klaus from his tormented sleep. He opens his eyes to find them connected with Caroline's. Klaus's fear and confusion seeped through her soul before questioning, "What the hell Marcellus?"

"This baby vampire was snooping around today asking for you. Figured I would oblige." Before any further words could be shared, Marcel snaps Caroline's neck, leaving Klaus calling her name, pounding on the magical boundary. Marcel smiles and drops Caroline on the floor in front of him and then leaves.

Twenty minutes of torment, Klaus finally hears the sharp intake of breath of Caroline waking up. He stays planted on the ground as close as possible to her. "Caroline?"

Rubbing her neck, she exclaims, "What an ass! I thought Stefan said Marcel Gerard helped you and him when he was here years ago." She gestures to him, "And you, the most powerful creature on the planet, as you once described yourself, is chained up? What is going on here?"

Klaus smirked at her. "I have missed that. You always have been a straight to the point kind of girl."

"Klaus…" Caroline sits up straighter and stares at him. He looked beaten but his spirit wasn't – his eyes proved it.

"I'm staying alive for my family. Rebekah was hexed, Elijah and Kol were bitten by Marcel – who can kill us – and Freya is poisoned. All of them are in a sleep-like state, linked to me while Hayley is trying to find cures for all of their ailments."

"And your daughter?"

Klaus' expression grew solemn. "Hope is with Hayley. I know she's safe."

"I'm sorry," Caroline bowed her head to stare at her hands.

"You need to leave Caroline. Leave New Orleans. It's not safe for you here."

"It's not safe for me here but it's not safe out there for my girls. I don't know what to do Klaus." Caroline sighed. "You were my first thought but my last option."

Klaus' eyes grew at the blonde vampire's revelation. "There's a place you can go," he whispered. He raised his finger to the ceiling and then to his ears to show that he couldn't talk openly. Caroline nodded in understanding. "There's someone in Alabama who can help you…" While he makes up a story about a fake witch, he draws directions in the dust of the floor to a real safehouse.

Once Caroline is sure of the coordinates, she nods to him so he can erase it. "Thank you. I wish I could help you."

"Please don't try Caroline. Just go be safe with your daughters." She lifted her hand to the barrier as he lifted his too, wishing they could touch. "I'm sorry, love."

"For?"

"For the moment you come knocking on my door and I'm not capable on answering it."

Caroline smiled, "It's okay. When you get out of here, come find me."

"Dear, I think you should exchange the word 'when' for 'if'," came Marcel's voice.

Caroline stood and spun around to face Marcel. "No, Mr. Gerard. I meant what I said. You think you've won?" Caroline drew near him, anger spilling from her in waves. "The Mikaelson's are the Original family. They have defeated every enemy that has come at them and you will be no different. Niklaus Mikaelson will not be kept down by anyone!" Klaus looked at her with incredible pride that just barely overpowered his fear.

However, Marcel just smiled. "Now I see what Klaus saw in Camille. She's a lot like you."

"Leave Cami out of this. Her death was a tragic loss from the same disease that has taken over you," Klaus sneered.

"Well, Miss Forbes, if you would join me upstairs, I had Josh bring your little ones so you may be on your way."

Caroline looked back at Klaus, "I wanted you to meet them."

Sighing, Marcel said, "Fine, I'll have them brought down."

Once he leaves, Klaus looks at Caroline with question on his face. She shakes her head and holds a finger to her lips…she has a plan.

Josh comes down with the girls and stations himself on the outside of the door.

"Girls, this is Mommy's friend. Say 'hello' to him." His eyes shone as if he was seeing his own daughter.

"Hi," they both said, shyly. He asked them a few standard questions to get to know them a little better before they would need to leave. Favorite color, age, what they liked to do for fun.

"We need to go girls. Put your hands on the circle to say goodbye." Klaus watched as both twins placed their hands on the magical barrier and closed their eyes. All the magic holding Klaus prisoner started falling away.

Caroline looked at her girls and smiled, "Okay, let's get going." She looked up at Klaus and mouthed, "Run," before saying out loud, "Goodbye Klaus."

He reached out and touched her cheek before whooshing the opposite direction down the tunnel.


	2. Chapter 2 - Singing to the Girls

Disclaimer: I own nothing! All characters, locations, background and ideas all belong to The Vampire Diaries/Originals creators – and my, how talented they are!

\- TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO -

Once Caroline emerged from the dungeon, she thanked Josh for protecting her children and prayed he would follow her back up through the Mikaelson mansion – he did. She found her way to her car quickly and left.

Putting as many miles in between her family and the Quarter as possible, she speeds out of town. The entire drive to the safe house, she worried about Klaus. Did he make it out of New Orleans safely? Will Marcel come after him? After her?

Once she arrived at the safe house, she looked back at her sleeping girls and tiredly climbed out of her car, only to be thrown to the ground with force.

"Hayley, wait."

"Explain how you got here and if you were followed!" she demanded, werewolf eyes shining in the darkness.

"I wasn't followed and Klaus told me."

Hayley's grip loosened and her glowing wolf eyes lessened. "You've seen Klaus?"

"In New Orleans. In one of the tunnels under the Mikaelson house."

The glow was back. "There are no tunnels under the house." And with that sentence, she bites Caroline in the shoulder.

As she got ready to finish the job, the girls open the car door and say, "Mommy?" Hayley looks at Caroline and gets off her.

Caroline looks at Hayley and says, "Please let them stay."

Hayley nodded and leads them into the house. After getting all three girls asleep, the mothers watch from the doorway. "I'm sorry," says the brunette.

"I understand why you did it. Just watch over them," Caroline begged, starting to sweat. "The venom is spreading. Is there somewhere I can lay down?"

"Follow me."

Caroline lays down on a spare bed and as Hayley walks in with a blanket, she says, "Hope is a beautiful girl. I see so much of you in her. But I see Klaus too."

"She loves everything to do with art," she said smiling. "One day Klaus will see her paintings and drawings. I don't think I've ever seen him smile until the moment he held Hope in his arms. I can envision him smiling again once seeing her talent."

Over the course of the next few hours, Caroline's condition worsens. Hayley paces in front of her door, unsure of what to do or what she's going to tell her kids once it takes over.

There was a sudden sound outside and she glances back at the kids' door before moving into a protective stance.

As Klaus walks through the front door, Hayley is flooded with relief. "Klaus –"

"Is Hope okay?" was his first question.

"Yes, Hope is fine. But Caroline isn't." She beckons him to follow her to the spare room and he pushes past her to near the blonde woman lying on the bed.

"What happened to her?" he growled.

"I bit her. I thought she was after Hope."

Klaus ripped open a vain in his wrist and placed it on her lips. "Drink love." Picking up her head slightly, he feels life after her body again. Her eyes open and her veins turn dark before she grabs his wrist to hold it in place. Once the poison has been removed from her system she lets go and falls to the bed. "Sleep Caroline. You and your little ones are safe here." With that, her eyelids fall.

He covers her up and is about to leave the room when he hears a soft voice, "I know. I always feel safe with you." He grins slightly and leaves.

"I'm so sorry Klaus," Hayley starts. But she's cut short by a pair of arms, wrapping around her in a tight embrace. "Wha-?"

"You were just protecting Hope."

He releases her and she says, "Do you want to see her?" She doesn't bother with waiting for an answer before heading in the direction of their daughter's room. They watched Hope sleep for a while before Hayley states, "I can wake her up for you, if you want me to."

"No, let her sleep." He was happy to see her face, so innocent. Hayley places a hand on Klaus' shoulder and left him leaning on the door frame.

A few hours later, there's a hand on his back. Klaus had spent most of the night watching his daughter sleep, only to have his thoughts interrupted by Caroline. "You look better," he said, smiling slightly.

"Thanks to you," she responded with a smile of her own. They stood in silence, watching their children sleep.

"How did they break the spell?" he asked, breaking the quiet.

Caroline sighed and said, "They are siphon witches from the Gemini coven. They can absorb magic." She ran a hand through her hair before saying, "To be completely honest, it scares me on the inability to understand their abilities sometimes. They are going to be so powerful but I won't be able to help them."

"I understand your worries." Caroline looked at him, half-expecting him to continue but didn't.

After a moment of soaking up the image of Klaus that she hasn't seen before – a loving father – she took her leave without a word. There was a time when her hatred overcame her lust but their last encounter in person was passionate and her mind was permanently changed. Seeing him again brought out old memories and feelings that she thought was long gone.

Halfway back to the room Hayley offered her, she runs head on into Klaus' chest. He chuckles and grabs her by her arms to steady her. "I definitely don't miss that – getting knocked down by your unmatched hybrid speed."

Klaus responds with, "I don't believe I thanked you for rescuing me."

Caroline smirks and says, "Well, I don't imagine I'll ever hear that again in my lifetime so maybe you should say that again once more so I can really have it imbedded into my memory."

He chuckles again and got close to her ear, "Thank you Caroline." She felt herself shiver.

Instead of giving into any sensitivities, she pressed her hand up on his chest and pushed him away. "I'm going back to sleep. Goodnight Klaus."

Klaus looked at her confused. When she decided to finally come for him, he expected it on different circumstances and with a much better outcome. Though, he shouldn't be surprised with her playing hard to get, that was the reason he had fallen for her in the first place. Refusing for the night to be done, he walks swiftly towards the direction Caroline was headed. Catching up to her, he grabs her by her hand to spin her around to face him. Her breath catches in her throat as he backs her up on the wall.

"Klaus…" Caroline warns.

"Just give in," he whispers as he nears her lips. Unable to take his teasing any further, she grabs his neck and kisses him hard. Almost four years ago and he still was the most skilled kisser she'd ever met, making her knees wobbly. Pulling away, he holds her cheek in his hand, looking at her with a smile which was reciprocated.

"Feels just like yesterday – that day in the woods."

"That was a great day," Klaus agreed. "We don't need to recreate that if you aren't ready."

"Maybe that's for the best," she agrees sadly.

"I'll be here whenever you are though, love," he said, their bodies still pressed together. At the word "love", Caroline became putty in his hands.

"Oh, fuck it," she says as she rips off his coat and shirt, kissing him fearlessly. He grins at her through his kisses while he picks her up off the floor easily and she wraps her legs around his waist. Klaus was ready to run his hand up her leg to lift her dress up when they hear, "Mommy?"

Caroline recognizes the voice of her daughter and jumps down out of Klaus' arms. "Josie, what are you doing up?"

Josie yawns and says, "I had a bad dream," then she looks around Caroline at the shirtless Mikaelson to add, "Who's that?"

"That is Mommy's friend. You met him earlier today, remember?" She nodded and yawned again. "Come on, I'll sing you a song. Back to bed with you." Caroline picks up her little girl with ease and expresses apologies with her eyes to Klaus. He smiles fondly and follows the two.

Turns out all three girls were up. Klaus froze in the doorway, unable to move towards his daughter.

"Did you have the same bad dream Lizzie?" A nod. "You didn't wake up Hope, did you?" Her mom voice was on.

"We all woke up at the same time," Hope said.

Caroline's brow creased. "You all had the same nightmare?" They all nod this time. Looking back at Klaus, she found he was just as worried as she was. All three girls were looking at her expecting comfort. "Come here," she told the girls and they all climbed out of their beds to pile up onto Josie's bed where Caroline had all three girls lay side by side before covering them up snuggly.

"Girls, if you have those dreams again, just sing this song and you'll forget all about the bad things." They all watched her with yearning.

Flower, gleam and glow

Let your power shine

Make the clock reverse

Bring back what once was mine.

Heal what has been hurt

Change the fates design

Save what has been lost

Bring back what once was mine.

What once was mine."

Caroline finished her song and covered all the girls up, slowly rising from the bed and tip toed out of the room towards Klaus.

"That –" he started but Caroline held a finger to her lips and led him through the doorway and carefully closed the door before nodding to him to continue. "You're a wonderful singer."

Caroline snorted and said, "It's from that Disney princess movie Tangled. I try to sign songs to them to help them not be scared. When in all actuality I'm terrified inside. I mean the dream thing? I am used to my girls having the same dreams because they're twins…but now your daughter….?"

He ran his hand through his hair before crossing his arms. "It's amazing how she's grown while I've been gone. And then to find her first words so terrifying."

"And here I thought all it took was Silas messing with your brain to make you scared," she teased him.

"That was until Hope."

"It's a great look on you by the way," she said smiling. "You know, the big, bad Original hybrid can be…I don't know…human, I guess."

He leans closer to her and says, "Motherhood looks great on you as well. The last time we spoke, you were quite nervous."

"Thanks to our phone conversation, I calmed down and owned it. They're my girls. I know I was just a surrogate for Jo and Ric but they are mine," she said proudly.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Woods

Disclaimer: I own nothing! All characters, locations, background and ideas all belong to The Vampire Diaries/Originals creators – and my, how talented they are!

\- TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO -

"Let's put all our worries aside for the night." He kisses her again and leads her to an empty room where he kicks the door closed and throws her onto a bed. "I missed you Caroline."

"I've missed you too." He was helping her get out of her dress and reveled in her half-nakedness. Using her vampire strength and speed, she flipped them over making her on top. Removing every piece of clothing viciously, he can tell how badly she wants this. Sitting up, Klaus grabs her and whooshes her up against the dresser. The last of the clothes and undergarments were discarded prior to Klaus entering Caroline. She sighed in relief as he kissed her, moving his hips to meet hers in rhythm.

Without meaning to, Caroline's vampire teeth came out and she gasped, covering her embarrassment. Klaus pauses and says, "No need to hide love." He picks her up and carries her – while still in her – to the bed. "Do it," he dared.

She kisses his lips, cheek and chin before making it to his throat. Her heart feels as if it will pound out of her chest; she has never vamped out during sex before. Tenderly, she kisses his neck before stabbing her teeth into his neck. He feels her grind her hips against him so he starts up again.

It wasn't long before he bites her too. Between the werewolf venom and the cure, the results were euphoric. They break free, stare deep into their vampire eyes watching them return to human once again before reaching their climax.

"Klaus…" she gasps before he kisses her once again, mixing both of their blood together.

Sweaty and spent, he sweetly kisses Caroline, wraps his arms around her and whispers, "Go to sleep Caroline."

"That was amazing, right?" she asks as she snuggles into his arms and lays a hand over his heart.

"Nothing even comes close. That was more than amazing."

"Have you ever done that before?"

"Not once in all my years." This made her smile. "I don't take blood sharing lightly."

That night they slept side by side as … equals, partners, lovers. In the morning, they wake up to laughter in the hallway, running past their closed door.

Klaus plays with a strand of her hair until her eyes flutter open. "Good morning love."

"Morning. Sounded like the girls are up."

"Ah yes, they've been up for a while but stayed in their room until Hayley went to get them."

"I should get up and go make sure my girls are being good." She rolled over to look at him, eye to eye. "Last night was amazing. It had been so long for me; since having the twins actually." He raised his eyebrows in question. "Oh, well, you know. Vampire, mother of two, lived with the father, college drop out. Not really dating material."

"You are definitely dating material. Beautiful, intelligent, kind hearted, loyal…I could go on."

There was a small silence before Caroline spoke. "Klaus, who is Camille?"

"What?" he was obviously thrown off guard.

"Marcel mentioned a woman – Camille – and you grew angry saying she was dead. What happened?"

"I didn't kill her if that's what you're asking."

"That's not what I asked Klaus."

He stared at her before saying, "Camille reminded me of you my first day in New Orleans. We connected right away, talked about art, she challenged me. Much like you." Pause. "And she was blonde, that helped." He snickered as she playfully punched him in the shoulder. "She was human. That was until she got mixed up in my world.

"She sounds nice."

"You would have liked her."

Moving up to sit on his lap, sitting on top of him, she lifts her hand to his temple and says, "Show me."

He normally would argue with anyone invading his mind but there wasn't anything he needed to spare Caroline to. She has known him at his best, and most importantly, his worst. Opening his memories up to her, he shared the history of Cami with Caroline.

"She seemed really special to you. I'm sorry Klaus."

"I've had a lot of time to think about her while Marcel had me locked up and I realized that she was just a replacement for you. Her being human was exactly like you but once she turned into a vampire, she changed too. Into something that wasn't not her."

"I changed when I became a vampire too. That's what happens."

"Yeah but she became something else. You once explained that you became a better version of yourself," she nodded, remembering the conversation. "Well, Cami didn't."

Caroline had nothing to say. So, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, got up and pulled on a pair of jeans and shirt out of her duffle bag.

He watched her with admiration before his own question. "Why'd you come to New Orleans? Why did you come for me?"

"I needed a safe place for my girls. Stefan is still on the run from Reyna and Ric left with Damon. Like I said earlier yesterday, you were my first thought I had because I have never felt safer than when I'm with you. But I didn't want to be _that_ girl so I went through a few options eventually making my way tothe New Orleans boarder." Once dressed, she turned around and faced him. "When that bar waitress said no one's seen you in years, I was ready to just break down on that floor and give up." Fully dressed, she sat down on the bed next to the still naked Klaus. "Deep in the bottom of my heart I knew I could count on you. Terrified me to know you were in trouble."

"I was never in trouble. I played my hand with Marcel and won."

She looked at him thoughtfully and smiled. "A thousand years old. Guess you always know how to play your cards."

There was a high-pitched scream followed by laughter as the girls ran through the halls and Hayley chasing after them saying, "I'll get you my pretties. And your little dog too." Caroline and Klaus chuckled at the horrible Wicked Witch impression and then she got up. "I'm going to go check on my girls. Try to pry them away from Hope so you can spend the day with her alone. Not that it will be easy to do so," she chuckled.

Not expecting her to do that for him, Klaus has a look of surprise on his face but Caroline is already out of the door and does not notice. Dressing quickly, he leaves to find two women and three girls playing in the garden, all running in circles.

Hayley spots Klaus and stops Hope to carry her to the front porch. "Hope, this is Klaus. Do you remember the stories of your daddy that I've told you?" Hope nodded as Hayley set her down on her feet. "Well, your daddy's name is Niklaus Mikaelson."

Klaus was terrified. There was only a handful of times he had ever felt this fear – all to be counted on one hand. However, his daughter looked up at him in awe and smiled. "You're my dad?"

He knelt down in front of her and said, "Yes. Hope, I'm your dad." Hayley smiled and left the two alone. "You've grown so much from the last time I saw you."

"Mom told me why you left."

"What did she say?"

"You were protecting your family. The people in the boxes in the attic."

"Your mom was quite right."

"Mom also told me you like painting."

"All kinds of art actually." Without another word, Hope takes his hand and leads him to her room and handed him a large binder. Each page covered in drawings and watercolor paint. "These are incredibly talented; especially, for someone so young," he beamed with pride.

The whole rest of the day, Klaus spent most of his time with Hope. She was bright and kind; something that he always desired for his daughter. At dinner, everyone came back together for Josie and Lizzie's favorite food – macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. Caroline said it was a family recipe and not from a box.

Hope finished her food first after gulping down her plate and asked to go play in her room. "What do you say to Caroline for making dinner?" asked Hayley.

"Thank you for the yummy mac and cheese."

"You're very welcome Hope. Glad you liked it." Hope then looked at Klaus for approval to leave, which he gave with a wink.

Soon all the girls were full and excused as Caroline began clearing the plates. "Let me help you love," Klaus said.

"I'll go get the girls cleaned up and ready for bed," Hayley said. "I have some of Hope's old pajamas the twins can have."

"Thank you," Caroline expressed.

Once Hayley had left, Caroline figured to wait until Klaus was ready to talk before saying anything so she just worked on hand washing the dishes while he wiped down the table and assisted on drying. Being near him made Caroline's skin on fire. Casually bumping elbows and sharing smiles. Before long, Hayley was back with three children. Lizzie and Josie ran to Caroline to kiss and hug her goodnight. Once received, they ran past Hope and Hayley giggling.

Hayley was knelt down whispering to Hope – which everyone with vampire hearing could hear – saying, "Go say goodnight to your daddy Hope. Big hug like we talked about."

Klaus walked over to Hayley and Hope, knelt down to their level saying, "That's okay Hayley." Looking at Hope, he adds, "Hope, you don't have to do anything you don't want to."

She looked as if she was considering it before saying, "Night," and running down the hallway in the opposite direction. Caroline watched Klaus' face turn into a disappointed frown.

"I'm sorry Klaus," Hayley starts before standing up. "She'll warm up to you soon." She places a hand on his shoulder and leaves.

Klaus slowly rises to his feet and stands solemnly in the hallway entrance. "When she was born, I vowed to never become my father. Someone who I feared and fled from on multiple occasions."

"She's not scared of you Klaus," answers Caroline. "She's a young girl who just met the king from her dreams, but at the same time she's never met you in person that she can remember." Closing the vast space between her and him, she slides her hands under his arms and over his stomach. "Give her time, just like you gave me. She'll come around. It's incredibly hard to resist you. Trust me."

He chuckled, placing his hands over hers, enjoying her closeness. "There was a time I gave you advice on parenting. Guess that's changed."

Hayley comes back into the kitchen ten minutes later to find the two finishing the last dish. "Caroline, if you don't mind, I have an errand to run tomorrow and wouldn't mind the help."

Klaus jumped at her saying, "I can assist."

Caroline put her hand up and said, "No, Klaus. Use tomorrow to bond with your daughter." Looking at Hayley, she asked, "What do we need to do?"

"Just some grocery shopping and a few other little things. Should be back by dark."

Caroline nodded. "I'll make sure to set an alarm so that I'm ready by nine."

"Great, night."

Klaus stared at Caroline, brow creased. He was unhappy. "You can't control me Klaus. Besides, some alone time is a good idea." At that, her phone rang in her back pocket. Looking at it, she sighed. "I have to take this. Excuse me."

She walked outside and answered her phone. "Hello." There was obvious yelling because she pulls the phone away from her ear before resuming the call. "You have no right to yell at me! Are you with Damon right now?" Pause. "Whatever, you say Ric. Damon would have been fine at the house, you know he would never let anything bad happen to the girls." Another pause. "The girls are fine and we will remain here until I feel as if I can return with them safely."

She looked back at the house to find Klaus watching her through the window intensely. "Don't threaten me Ric…" she gasps, "They are too my daughters! Call me when you are not drunk off your ass and feel like you can apologize!" She hangs up the phone and throws it on the ground, frustrated. Turning back to face the trees, she crosses her arms, not wanting to face Klaus yet.

Despite knowing she wanted to be alone to organize her thoughts, he left the kitchen door to the yard to find her whooshing into the trees after something. He rushes after her. After a moment of searching, he finds a wolf laying on the ground and Caroline sitting next to it, covered in blood.

"Caroline –"

"I saw the eyes glowing. Thought it was a werewolf."

"But –"

"It's not a full moon. Yeah, I realized that after killing it. Just a regular wolf. Suppose I'm a little too jumpy."

Pulling her up by her elbow, he says, "You used to say they weren't yours. Three times if I'm not mistaken, in our last phone call."

"But you reminded me that it's okay to love something that I can't explain. I've changed in the past few years. They're my daughters as much as they're Ric's. They may not have my DNA but I carried them, I almost died giving birth to them, I sacrificed my entire life for them. They are mine!" she yelled.

"You know that, he knows that. He will apologize eventually," he said calmly, wiping blood from her chin.

"How do you know?"

"Because I tried to keep Hope from Hayley once. I was stupid, power hungry and –"

"Being Klaus?

He smirked, "I was going to say territorial."

"And you regretted doing it?"

"Not as much as I should have but I know that Hayley is her mother. I didn't want Hope to wake up one day, hating me for keeping Hayley from her." He licked his finger that now had blood on it, his eyes getting dark. Growling, he brought her closer, catching her off guard. Licking her chin and neck free of blood, she leaned into him moaning, giving him all of herself, submitting to the hybrid.

"Klaus…" she breathed. Pushing her into a tree, recreating their first physical activity, Klaus kisses her, tasting of blood. Biting her lip with his fangs, venom entered her body, making her knees give out. Klaus caught her with ease and wrapped them around his waist, holding her up with his hands on her butt.

Quickly removing all clothes and throwing each other into trees, Caroline was soon crying out Klaus' name out into the darkness.

Klaus was still holding Caroline up, even a few minutes after climax. "I have no idea how you are still holding me right now."

"It's easy when the woman I'm holding is so breathtaking. Makes me never want to let you go." She smiled thoughtfully as he placed her on the ground softly. Her legs buckle beneath her and he catches her. "You alright love?"

"You bit me earlier."

She touched her lip when he said, "I didn't even realize; you should have bit me back."

"I know I could have but it wasn't painful, so I just gave into it." He looked at her with a look she was growing to enjoy – admiration. He puts his wrist up to her face, a few inches from her mouth. Her eyes grow dark and she closes the distance between them. Biting into his arm, she feels him cradling her head protectively. Quickly the venom is out of her system and she lets go. "Thank you."

Once dressed, they walk hand in hand, slowly back up to the house. "Um, I'm not sure if you want to share a room again tonight but, um, I would like to…" she stuttered, obviously embarrassed as she stopped to pick up her phone from the grass.

His eyes grew but he chuckled, "I would love to Caroline."


	4. Chapter 4 - Roadtrip with Hayley

Disclaimer: I own nothing! All characters, locations, background and ideas all belong to The Vampire Diaries/Originals creators – and my, how talented they are!

\- TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO -

Caroline's phone alarm blared announcing morning and she groaned to turn it off, unsure how Klaus wasn't woken up by the noise. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she rubbed her eyes and then stood up to find fresh clothes. At the time of packing, only bringing the essentials, she was officially down to her last outfit.

Carefully tip toeing out of the room, she headed to the kitchen to make some coffee. Exhaling, she happily sipped her hot drink appreciatively. She then decided to cook up some scrambled eggs with bacon bits. Once all cooked and plates were placed on the table, Caroline heads to the girls' room where she finds them quietly playing dolls.

"Good morning girls." The twins came to give her a hug. "Come to the kitchen, I made breakfast. But do it quietly, okay?" They nod.

Breakfast was half over when Caroline hears, "I hope there's more coffee." Hayley walks into the kitchen and Caroline smiles at her, pointing towards the pot. "Oh, thank god!" As she pours a cup, she asks, "Klaus up yet?"

"Not yet but I'm going to go wake him now that you're here so we can get going." Back in the bedroom they shared, she wakes up the sleeping Original. "Klaus, Hayley and I are leaving. The girls have already had breakfast but there's coffee left for you."

"Okay, okay. I'm up." She bends down to peck him on the cheek but he grabs her and kisses her hard. "Be careful."

A half hour later after getting on the road, Caroline finally asks, "So where are we going?"

"I've been working for three years to cure all of the Original family. I've been trying to find a werewolf from a specific line and they've been considered extinct but one of my contacts found someone still living. I didn't want Klaus to know just yet. I don't want to get his hopes up if it doesn't turn out to be a legit tip."

"And we're collecting blood from these wolves?"

"Yeah, I've already found a witch to take off Rebekah's hex and the antidote to cure Freya so just the bite from Marcel to heal now for Elijah and Kol."

Caroline was silent for a while until an idea popped into her head. "Hey, that house is practically off the grid, right? It's protected by magic?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I may make a call to have someone meet us. Elena was put under a spell and she's in a deep sleep. Her coffin has been in a couple different places since it happened."

"Do you know where she's at right now?"

"No but it's a quick call to Tyler and I can find out."

"Ha!" Hayley laughed. "Don't tell him I'm with you. Or tell Klaus you still have his phone number." She thought about it before saying, "Call him. We can pick up the doppelgänger after getting that wolf blood."

Caroline dialed Tyler's number and he answered after two rings. "Lockwood."

"Hey Tyler. I found a safe place for Elena's coffin and want to meet up with you to get it."

"I promised Stefan that I wouldn't give anyone the coffin unless they were sure that it was safe," came Tyler's unsure voice.

"Seriously, this place is like a magical Bermuda Triangle. She couldn't be safer."

"Fine, Caroline. You answer to Damon if anything happens," he threatened.

"I know."

"I can meet you in Nebraska tomorrow. I'll text you the address." Click.

"Nebraska. Are you going to be okay being away from Hope tonight?"

"Yeah. We'll call later tonight to tell Klaus we got caught up in a storm or something and will be delayed."

While the thought of lying to Klaus seemed like a bad idea, Caroline felt as if they could handle this task alone. "Thank you, Hayley."

They had tracked down the last of the werewolf line that they were looking for in Kansas, knocked the unsuspecting wolf out taking quite a bit of blood. Once completed, they released the wolf and headed to a hotel. Once checking in, they drove across the street and did a bit of shopping given that Caroline needed some more clothes.

"I better call Klaus," Caroline says, pulling out her cell phone after having a fun girl's afternoon. He picks up immediately, yelling playfully about someone needing to go hide. "Klaus?"

"Yes, love. Sorry, the girls wanted to play hide and seek. I'm doing the seeking… and I'm letting them win on purpose. They don't realize I can smell and hear them."

"Sounds like you're having fun being a dad. You never let anyone win," she joked.

"I am," she could almost hear the smile on the other side of the phone. "You two almost home?"

"Home" sounded so good to Caroline. Nothing seemed like home since her mom's passing but the past two days with Klaus, she realized the house in Arizona had become a home for her. "Actually, Hayley and I got caught up in a storm. Now a bridge is out, so we're stuck here overnight. We just checked into a hotel."

"Are you okay?" He sensed a tone in her voice.

"Yeah, we're fine. Can I talk to my girls?"

"Yeah, definitely. Lizzie, Josie, your mom is on the phone."

"Hi mom!" came two young voices. Klaus must have put it on speakerphone.

"Hi babies! Did you have fun with Hope's daddy today?" They responded yes and then went on to tell Caroline all about everything the four of them did that day. "Well, make sure you listen to Klaus. When he says it's time for bed, you get changed and brush your teeth. Okay?"

"Yes mommy. We promise," said Lizzie.

"See you tomorrow. Love you." Caroline heard distant love you's and then came Klaus' voice. "I'll let Hayley talk to Hope, hang on."

Hayley had a similar conversation with her daughter before handing the phone back to Caroline and heading to take a shower.

"I guess I'll let you go back to your game," she said reluctantly.

"Caroline, are you sure you're okay? You know I'll protect your girls with my life, right?" His voice was worried, full of doubt.

"Oh my gosh, Klaus, I know! I wouldn't have left them with you if I wasn't two hundred percent sure they would be safe. I trust you implicitly."

"So, what's wrong love?"

"I just realized how much I've felt at home the past few days. Safe, happy. It's been so long since I've had that feeling." Caroline sighed, "I'm looking forward to coming home tomorrow."

"Just stay safe and alert. Talk to you in the morning?"

"Definitely! Goodnight Klaus."

"Goodnight Caroline."

At around three in the morning, Caroline's phone goes off, "Hello?"

"The girls had their dream again. I've tried everything to get them to go back to sleep. They are demanding that song," came Klaus' tired voice.

"Hang on," she got up and carefully left the hotel room. "Put me on video chat." She watched her phone light up. "Okay girls, I'm only singing the song once and then you have to go back to bed." They all tiredly nod and Caroline sings them to sleep.

"Give me a second Caroline." The camera shifts as he walks out of their room silently. As she waits, she's pushed up against a pole and a nasty drunk man gets in her face.

While she wonders how he got past her senses, he slurs his words, "You sing very pretty."

"Caroline!" she hears Klaus yelling her name over the phone in her hand.

"You messed with the wrong girl," Caroline growls. Her eyes grow dark and she extends her fangs. Grabbing him quickly, she plunges into his carotid artery, draining him. He's so inebriated that he doesn't even know to scream. She stops just as she felt the fine line of blood loss and passing out. "You will forget this happened and will never again come after another woman," she compelled.

"Caroline?!"

After watching the man walk away from her, she lifts the phone to see Klaus physically exhale. "I'm okay. Even his blood tastes drunk, ick." Seeing her reflection on the screen, she gasps, "Oh geez. I should hang up and head back to wash off."

"You amaze me," his eyes were dazzling.

"Why?"

"Because you embrace being a vampire. You love it. You're not ashamed of it."

"I have only once wished I wasn't. When my mother died, I shut off my humanity." Just thinking about that time made bad memories return. "I really need to go."

"Okay, sleep well. I love you."

Caroline's eyes grew but her smile rose and said, "I've always loved you Klaus. I was just afraid of it." With that, they hung up and Caroline headed back to the hotel room where Hayley was sleeping still.

Klaus and Caroline texted the next morning until the girls were awake and he had to go make breakfast. Hayley and Caroline head on the road early. "Hayley, can I ask a question?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Klaus and I are not going to cause problems, is it?"

"What? No way!" she laughed.

"I mean, you two had a baby together…and I guess I never fully knew the extent of that."

"Oh, um, well it was back in Mystic Falls. We were drunk – I mean _really_ drunk. Earlier that day, we were venting about your and Tyler's relationship to each other – he wanted you and for some reason, I wanted Tyler. But besides that one time, we never did it again and never will."

"Does Hope feel the same way? Because my girls ask why daddy and mommy aren't together. At one point, we actually agreed to get a quick court house marriage, just to stop the questions. Thankfully, we never went through with it."

"Hope knows her mom and dad love her very much but also knows that I am in love with her Uncle Elijah. That's why I'm trying so hard to put my family back together." She looked at Caroline seriously, "I really am thankful you broke him out. Raising Hope by myself was hard. Always on guard, trying to cure everyone but terrified bringing her with me when I would get a new tip. That first night you and Klaus showed up was my first full night of sleep in so long."

They drove for two hours before reaching their destination. Tyler stepped out of a black SUV and Caroline jumped out to greet him. Hayley got out to open the back of their van and when Tyler saw her, he jumped to guard his car. "What the hell Caroline?"

"Tyler, just trust me."

"You ran off to be Klaus, didn't you?" he asked, hatred was dripping with every word.

"Actually Lockwood, Klaus has no idea about any of this," speaks up Hayley. The statement was technically true.

"Leave Damon and Stefan to me Tyler," Caroline begged.

Eventually, she convinced him to hand over Elena's coffin and they were on the road back to Arizona. "God, that man can be so infuriating!" said Hayley once they got back on the highway.

"Yeah, he's still pissed that months after we broke up, I slept with Klaus."

"But you were broken up."

"I know. And after everything I did for him. He knows that I convinced Klaus to let him come home…but no! He had to chase after him in New Orleans. I said that it was either me or revenge."

"I remember him showing up. But still, that doesn't give him the right to dictate or judge your relationships now."

Caroline agreed. The girls really got to know each other on this trip and Caroline could see them becoming friends.


	5. Chapter 5 - Rest of their Lives

Disclaimer: I own nothing! All characters, locations, background and ideas all belong to The Vampire Diaries/Originals creators – and my, how talented they are!

\- TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO - TVD/TO -

Making sure they weren't being followed – for the third time – they finally pull into the long driveway. Three little girls came to greet them with big hugs. All of them were talking fast when Caroline looked up to see Klaus up on the front porch, arms crossed lazily and watching them intently while smiling. "Lizzie, Josie, why don't you and Hope go paint a brand-new picture before dinner?" They run back up to the house yelling happily. Not bothering to raise her voice knowing he could hear her, Caroline says, "Klaus, can you come help please?"

By the time she reached the van's back door, Klaus was already there. "Help with what?"

Hayley opens the door to reveal the coffin and says, "With this?"

Klaus looks suspiciously at Caroline until she cracks under pressure. "Hayley said it would be okay to keep Elena here."

"Elena? As in the doppelgänger?"

"She was under a sleeping curse by Kai Parker, Lizzie and Josie's uncle. Her life is connected to Bonnie's, so until Bonnie dies, Elena is stuck in that coffin."

They carried Elena to the attic to be placed with the Mikaelson coffins. Hayley leaves quickly after placing a hand over what Caroline assumed was Elijah's coffin. Klaus was quiet. "You're angry with me." It wasn't a question, she knew him more than he realized. He didn't answer so she drew him close and said, "I'm sorry that we didn't tell you." Running her hands up and down his chest seductively, "If it makes you feel any better, Tyler was incredibly jealous that I was coming back to you. That I trusted you more than him with my best friend." As soon as she said this, she saw his eyes flash and she immediately regretted her choice in words.

"Lockwood was there?"

She backed up, suddenly scared of his features. There was something about the vibes she was getting off him. "Um, we had to get Elena's body from him. He's been moving her from place to place for years."

Klaus was quiet for a while so Caroline took the moment of silence to open the coffin. She hadn't seen her best friend in such a long time. He watched her while she hesitated touching Elena's forehead to enter her mind to talk to her. Finally convincing herself, she closes her eyes. The peacefulness allowed him to think about what Caroline had told him. When she had said the former hybrid's name, he didn't really let any of the other words sink in. She trusted him with not only her daughters but her best friend as well. Tyler had done a fine job keeping the coffin safe up until now but Caroline went out of her way to bring Elena Gilbert's body here.

Caroline came back to reality with a single tear coming down her cheek. "Klaus, I know you're pissed off at me for not telling you or maybe it's because of Tyler but I assure you, nothing has been going on with me and him in a very, very long time." She had come to face him, her hands on his abs. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you."

Unexpectedly, Klaus leaned down and kissed her hard. Pulling away, he breathed out the anger he was holding in. "I'm wrapped around your finger Miss Forbes; from the moment I met you. The only thing that I hate is that you once gave your heart to someone who did nothing to protect it."

"You're right." He looked surprised that she agreed so quickly. "I did give him part of my heart and he returned it broken and stomped on. We had known each other forever but were never really in each other's lives. That was until we went into transition around the same time and we leaned on each other. We were never supposed to date, we are only meant to be friends." She ran her fingers over his heart. "But as of this moment, I give you – not just a piece of my heart, but the whole thing. I know it's damaged and in stiches but it's yours, Niklaus Mikaelson."

"It will never be broken again," he promised as he took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles adding, "Don't keep anything else from me again."

"Don't scare me again. I don't like worrying about your temper turning on me like earlier. I backed away from you Klaus; I don't think I've ever done that before," she pauses. "Well, once but it was Silas pretending to be you."

This was something he only knew because of Stefan relaying it to him once in a phone call. Drawing her closer to him, he says, "Deal. You don't keep anything from me and I won't ever make you fear me. I didn't mean to have you feel that way earlier; Elijah always said I needed to learn to control my temper."

"I'll help you. Elena literally just told me that I've tried to do everything on my own for so long now that I need to learn to let someone else take on some of the weight."

Klaus kissed her again and held her tight. "We'll help each other. Welcome home." This made her smile. Before heading down from the attic, he adds, "Perhaps, Freya can assist with waking your friend." Caroline's eyes shine up at him.

Later that night after dinner, Hayley read a story to the girls to tire them out for bed. Saying goodnight to her daughters, Caroline sees Hope hug her father and give him a peck on the cheek. His eyes light up and returns the affections.

Leaving the room, hand in hand, Klaus and Caroline follow Hayley into the kitchen. "So besides obtaining a coffin containing a Petrova doppelgänger, what were you two doing?"

"Finding the cure for Marcel's bite," answers Hayley.

Klaus leans forward in his chair with interest, "And?"

Hayley smiles and says, "I think we got the last ingredient."

"Wonderful news!" He rises to his feet. "When can we wake them?"

"Once I can combine all the antidote together we can wake up Freya to work her magic."

Grabbing the pot of tea off the stove, Klaus poured three cups of the hot beverage before saying, "This is splendid. We'll work on the cure tomorrow morning together. With any luck, we'll be able to wake my siblings by nightfall."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you guys in the morning," said Hayley, getting up and placing her already empty cup in the sink.

Klaus stopped her and said, "Thank you, little wolf."

Caroline raised her eyebrows, wondering when the term of endearment had become a nickname; but she realized it wasn't out of jealousy, rather curiosity. Once alone, Caroline said, "Hope has really warmed up to you."

His face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Those two days of spending time alone with her has really helped build a relationship with her. And not just her but with your girls too."

"Tomorrow will be a good day for you. Having your family back. I'm looking forward to meeting this long, lost sister witch of yours. Hopefully, she fairs off better with first impressions than the rest of your family," she joked.

"Freya is a spirited person. I believe you'll enjoy her company."

"And Kol? How is he alive?"

"Long, complicated story. Short version, he body jumped, fell in love with a witch, died and then brought back by said witch."

"Where is she? Why is she not helping?"

"She's dead. Another long, complicated story and definitely not one that ended on a happy note…obviously." Caroline looked down at her cup and sadly placed it down on the table. She was not a friend of Kol but that didn't mean she didn't have any feelings of concern for him – losing the love of your life is tragic. "Love?"

"Hmm?"

"You got really quiet. What's on your mind?"

"Oh, I was just thinking of Kol losing his love like that. It was just so quick and he just found her."

"At least it was now and not years down the road," Klaus said, leaning back in his chair.

She looked at him, stunned. "So, you're saying if you lost me right now, that it would hurt less than say, in forty years?"

He looked at her and said, "That's not what I meant." She smiled at him and crossed her arms, saying nothing. "I see your point. For someone one so young, you are wise."

"I am a mom and moms know everything, so…" He smirked at her. "How do you think you would react to my death?"

"I know how I would be. Terrified over the thought of living without you and then for once in my life, I would contemplate death, just to be with you in the afterlife."

"How do you know that?"

"When I bit you in the Gilbert living room. That was a close call and in that one moment, I truly was disgusted with my actions and when I thought I was too late to save you, I hated what I was."

"But you weren't too late. I knew you would save me."

"I have no idea how you can still defend me," he shakes his head at her.

She smiles brightly. "Because we all have a little darkness in us, much like yin and yang. I didn't even register that I killed those twelve witches until you literally spelled it out for me. I did it to protect Bonnie and definitely wouldn't hesitate to do it again if it meant saving her life. But what does that say about me? That's my darkness."

Klaus started at her in respect before saying, "When this is all over – waking my siblings and finding out the meaning of the girls' connected dreams – let's take some time to go exploring. I'm sure the girls would enjoy seeing some of the wonders that this world has to offer."

Caroline chuckled, "You mean like 'Rome, Paris or Tokyo'?"

Smiling at the memory, he answers, "Japan is quite lovely this time of year."

Caroline stands, walks over to him and sits gingerly on his lap before kissing him passionately. "Sounds like a plan, Mr. Mikaelson. I'm finally ready to follow you anywhere."


End file.
